Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and other Dem leaders are fanning the flames of speculation that President Trump is planning to pardon Derek Chauvin — the cop convicted of killing George Floyd — despite the president previously saying he hadn’t heard of efforts to grant a reprieve.
Sources close to the Department of Justice told The Post Wednesday that they had also heard nothing about a Chauvin pardon.
That didn’t stop Walz, Kamala Harris’ 2024 running-mate, from weighing in on online rumors.
He told reporters this week the Trump administration hasn’t signaled granting clemency to Chauvin, but argued, “With this presidency, it seems like that might be something they would do.”
“If Donald Trump exercises his constitutional right to do so, whether I agree — and I strongly disagree with him — if he issues that pardon we will simply transfer Derek Chauvin to serve out his 22-and-a-half years in prison in Minnesota,” Walz said, per the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Minneapolis Community Safety Commissioner Toddrick Barnette also made clear the city was ready for anything.
“Since 2020, we’ve overhauled our emergency management plans and out of an abundance of caution are planning for any eventuality,” he said.
However, even if Trump does pardon Chauvin, the ex Minneapolis officer would not be freed.
He was convicted of Floyd’s 2020 killing — which sparked protests and riots across the country — in both state and federal courts, so he would merely be transferred from federal custody to a Minnesota state prison.
When Trump was asked by reporters at the White House about letting Chauvin off in March, he replied “No, I haven’t even heard about it.”
Unrest over the murder of Floyd, who was black, resulted in weeks of protests and billions of dollars of property destruction. In Minneapolis, the local police precinct was burned down by rioters.
Chauvin pleaded guilty to federal charges tied to Floyd’s death in 2021 and was also convicted on state murder and manslaughter charges.
“I really don’t know why you did what you did,” a federal judge told Chauvin during his sentencing in 2022.
“To put your knee on a person’s neck until they expired is simply wrong. … Your conduct is wrong and it is offensive.”
Under Trump’s first term, his Justice Department opened the civil rights probe into Chauvin.
Some MAGA figures have pushed for Trump to grant Chauvin a pardon.
“I strongly support Derek Chauvin being pardoned and released from prison,” Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted Wednesday.
